Climate Opportunities Knocking at Your Door
Made up of articles written for Wall Street International Magazine, the anthology Climate Opportunities Knocking at Your Door outlines the far-reaching impacts of climate change with conviction.
Oilman-turned-economist William Mebane’s astute environmental essay collection compiles pieces on climate change and related issues, explaining what people and businesses can do to lessen their carbon footprints and cut costs.
Made up of articles written for Wall Street International Magazine, the book outlines the far-reaching impacts of climate change, practical mitigation steps that can be taken, and how such actions can improve a company’s bottom line. There are recommendations for investing in emerging technologies alongside calls for economic systems to be reconsidered so that they do not cause so much harm to the earth. And in addition to climate change–specific recommendations for phasing out coal-fired plants, adopting electric vehicles, and imposing carbon taxes, the book also addresses subjects including toxic masculinity, labor laws, and the loss of community. Still, all of these ideas are ultimately tied back to the overarching issue of the climate crisis.
The prose is scientific and academic, tackling subjects with precision and rigor. Sources are cited throughout to support claims regarding, for instance, the exact number of premature deaths from bad air quality, and on the difference between the price of fossil fuels and the real price with all subsidies factored in. Its authoritative sources include the World Health Organization, the International Monetary Fund, and the Economic Policy Institute.
Grounded in data and evidence, the entries take an analytical approach to explaining subjects like how economic elites use a perceived meritocracy to justify their positions of power, leading them to dehumanize others. And most of the essays work toward neat conclusions; they are compelling in asserting that it is essential to reach net zero carbon emissions and to address racial injustice in the US, which is shown to extend far beyond police violence against Black bodies. There are rousing calls to action on issues including excessive incarceration and unsustainable practices too.
While the essays are collected within themed chapters, these ostensible parameters belie the haphazard way in which the topics are actually jumped between. And within the essays that go far afield of climate change at the outset—for example, discussing COVID-19 or political action committees—it takes considerable time to circle back to the central topic. Further, the chapters are preceded by AI-generated art that is garish in appearance, distracting from Mebane’s own points.
An incisive essay collection, Climate Opportunities Knocking at Your Door extols sustainability in the face of the climate crisis.
Reviewed by
Joseph S. Pete
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
